EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: BILLY SAMPLE

I love and respect the grind.  I know it's hard to make it to the major leagues and stay there and I admire many of the great ball players past, present and future for being able to make it and stay along as long as they have and will.  When I was growing up, there were many guys that played the game with the same club for a long time.  There were others, that as a Yankee fan, you wanted on your club, be it because of their talent, scrappiness, toughness, whatever it was.  One of those guys that I always admired was Billy Sample. 

Now, full disclosure; Once my first son was born, I made it a mission of mine to send out baseball cards to players present and past to get their autographs. The goal was to give each of my kids a binder full of baseball card autographs when they were old enough to enjoy it and understand the game. It was something I did as a kid, and something I hoped to pass onto them. One of those players was Billy Sample, and for a short time, we wrote letters back and forth to each other.  He answered my questions openly. He was, and is, a great, honest man and we became "friends"... in my head.  Now, years later, we met up again, this time because of a movie he put together called Reunion 108.

I recently wrote A SAMPLE OF BILLY SAMPLE. I wanted to share my recent connection with the BYB audience, an audience that didn't exist when I started my baseball card collection for my children. Now, these days, it nice to tell the stories to our audience, and so, when I asked Billy to do an interview with us, he agreed, and I was thrilled.

So here it is. A great interview with a smart baseball mind, a former pro baseball player, a movie maker and my friend, Mr. Billy Sample. Enjoy this ladies and gentlemen... I sure did:

BYB: Mr. Sample, you played 1 season with the Yankees, 1985. Tell the audience about playing for Billy Martin.

Billy Sample: In my opinion and that of others, Billy was a tremendous tactician, and he played an aggressive, small ball type of game.  Not that he shunned the three run homer, but he would force pressure on the defense by maximizing the smaller parts of the offense.

BYB: What teammates were you close with on that '85 Yankees team and why?

(In Photo: Don Baylor)

Billy Sample: By nature I am not a close, "makes friends" type of person.  I dressed on the side of the room with Andre Robertson, Don Baylor and Ken Griffey Sr., so I probably conversed more with them during the day than most.  

Ken Sr., had a fifteen year old son, who turned out to be a pretty good ballplayer too.

BYB: Yogi Berra was also your manager for 16 games in 1985. What was he like in a setting like that?

Billy Sample: Yogi was and is a super respected person.  Similar to what the public sees, he has a very easy demeanor with an understated humor.

BYB: I followed your career before the Yankees, when you were with the Rangers.  Tell me about your experience in baseball back then in Texas. What is your fondest memory of playing there?

Billy Sample: From Texas, I just remember the heat, oppressive temperatures. It was hard to maintain weight and energy. I believe one year we had forty-three consecutive days of over a hundred degrees.  The newer stadium, with its better infrastructure can shield the players better than the minor league stadium that the team inherited after its move from Washington

BYB: Growing up, who did you idolize in baseball and why?

Billy Sample: I didn't have any baseball idols growing up.  My models were people of whom I had interacted; like teachers, Cub scout leaders, coaches, etc.  I did admire the quiet dignity of Roy White. 

When I was traded to the Yankees, while Roy was in some front office capacity, I called him to my locker one day as he was walking through the clubhouse and told him. He didn't believe me... ha ha.

BYB: You shared a great nugget about Don Zimmer recently and we printed it on Bleeding Yankee Blue. Any other stories you want to share about the great Mr. Zimmer?

Billy Sample: Rangers' management had decided to replace Don Zimmer mid-way through the 1982 season, but as this was happening, Amon Carter, one of the minority owners of the club, died unexpectedly.  Owner Eddie Chiles didn't want the firing of Don to overshadow the homage paid to recently departed part owner, so he asked the manager to stay on through the weekend, even though he had been unofficially fired. Let's just say that press conference after the weekend was priceless.

Post by Reunion 108.

BYB: We recently chatted about the movie "Reunion 108" you put together.  Tell me about it, I'm sure the BYB audience would love to hear about it.

Billy Sample: I wrote a script. It's an edgy, satirical, R-rated comedy with a baseball clubhouse backdrop.  I submitted it to the Hoboken Film Festival and it took top honors in it's category and then I decided to produce it.  The jury is still out on that decision, but it's what I wanted, and now I have the task of getting it into as many theaters as possible and educate the audiences while eliciting quite a few laughs.

BYB: Is making movies something that you always had in the back of your mind, even when you were a major league ballplayer?

Billy Sample: No, not at all. I thought about journalism from time to time, but never thought about a movie during my playing days.  I doubt if making a movie even entered my mine before the last five years or so.

BYB: Billy, who was the 1 pitcher that you hated to face the most and why?

Billy Sample: I had trouble with a number of pitchers; Shane Rawley, Dave Stieb, Neal Heaton, Paul Splittorff, Jack Morris, Sammy Stewart. How did I stay in the league? Ha ha.  However, the late Tom Underwood and I both knew that I had trouble with him.   Once I got a cheap infield hit off of him in Baltimore. He with the Orioles and me with the Yankees. We both nodded because that's the only hit I remember getting off of him.  Officially I was 2 for 21 off of him.

BYB: Finally... anything you want to say to Bleeding Yankee Blue?

Billy Sample: Continued success with Bleeding Yankee Blue.

Thank you Mr. Sample, and all the best to you sir.  I would like to help promote Reunion 108 right now ladies and gentlemen.  Billy Sample is on Facebook.

I suggest you reach out to him.  Tell him you want to help him promote his film.  It's takes alot of courage and confidence to step out into a brand new field after baseball, but Mr. Sample is doing it, and I tip my cap.

I truly appreciate Mr. Sample taking the time.  And Billy, if you need anything, you reach out to us at BYB. You are now, officially, part of the Bleeding Yankee Blue family.

A SAMPLE OF BILLY SAMPLE

Growing up, there was a dude I always admired...and he played for the Texas Rangers most of his career.

When he came to the Yankees for the 1985 season, I was psyched.  His name was Billy Sample.

Over this past weekend, Billy and I spoke on Facebook.  Little did he realize that we spoke once before. Back in the summer of 2003 when my 11 year old son was just a baby.  I'm not sure if I ever told the Bleeding Yankee Blue audience about this, but when all of my kids were born, I made it a mission of mine to send out my baseball cards to baseball players and ask them for their autograph for my son.  I've stayed true to that, collecting many autographs over the years for my 4 boys.  And when they are old enough to have a true interest in the baseball players of years past, I will hand them their book of autographed baseball cards that I put together for each of them and hopefully they'll cherish them as much as I enjoyed making them.

You see, I love baseball, and as a kid, I sent cards out as well. I just figured years later, I would do something that I truly enjoyed for them.  An extension of myself or something... I don't know.

In that mix of players in 2003 was Billy Sample. I sent my letter to Billy, and instead of sending me back a price form to charge me for his autograph like so many try to do, he wrote me a letter, and then another, and another and we corresponded quite a bit in 2003.  Here's a sample, and I'm giving you this nugget and only this nugget because obviously, the conversations are private.

Billy Sample is a stand-up guy, a smart baseball mind, and at the time he was working for MLB Radio.  I was fascinated with his baseball knowledge, his stories and his eagerness to help me put together a card collection for my kid.  In short, he was kind and a helluva guy.

Now, 11 years later we meet again. This time, we spoke about Don Zimmer.  I asked for permission to print this correspondence between Mr. Sample and I because I really wanted to share it with you.  It comes from the heart and it's about Don Zimmer. You'll love it. Rest in Peace, Don Zimmer:

"I played eight years and a month in the majors, and I'm proud of that month! I had eight managers during that tenure.  My favorite one passed away, Don Zimmer.  I thought he told it to you as straight as it could be told, and it wasn't always what I wanted to hear.  A trade late in spring training for Lee Mazzilli in 1982 had me wondering where Lee was going to play.  

I walked into the clubhouse the next morning, and the clubhouse attendant said that Zim wanted to see me. I thought, "Noooooo!"  I was mad going in in those meetings and not all that happy coming out of them, but I could appreciate Zim trying to use the analogy of him backing up Pee Wee Reese when he thought he would get a shot at shortstop in the fifties with the Dodgers. 

As you know, he was quite a character.  One day after a night game in Texas and an off day before going to Toronto, we left early in the morning on the off day. Usually the team would leave later in the evening, as there is no need to be in the home team's city by eleven am.   However, there is a need if you want to get to the horse track and bet on all thirteen races!  And you should have seen this old school Dodger trying to implement the new wave short term performance philosophy directed by the front office!  

He once said to me, 'How many hits will you get in your next thirty at bats, six, seven, eight?'  I reached for the pocket schedule he had on his desk. 'Are we facing both Morris and Petry in the next series?'  The number given had to be re-adjusted. 

If you were around him for any period of time, you have a story. I have more, maybe for another time.

Condolences to his lovely and congenial widow, Soot. The game and the people involved were better because of his sixty-six year association."

Blow your mind? Maybe. For me personally, hearing about the greats through personal stories always makes me all fuzzy inside.  Zimmer inspired many and like Billy said, Zim said it to you straight.  Gotta love that.

Thanks for the sample, Mr. Sample... maybe there will be more. I hope so.

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!  

WHY I'M ASHAMED TO BE A BASEBALL FAN TODAY

Well, the BBWAA has done it. They have made their point. These dudes have created such a mess of the Hall of Fame voting that I’m on board with revamping the entire process. What am I talking about? Read on...

For just the eighth time, the baseball writers have failed to give enough votes to anyone on the ballot thus the only three inductees this year come from the Veterans Committee. They are Deacon White, umpire Hank O’Day, and former Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert, read HERE.

That’s all well and good, but here’s my problem. First year ballottees (is that even a word?) and cheaters guilty in the court of public opinion, Barry Bonds & Roger Clemens, received 36% & 37% of the vote respectively. The leading candidate this year was Craig Biggio with 68%, but if I recall. weren’t he and Jeff Bagwell (60%) accused together? (Read HERE.)  Despite all of the posturing, I really thought Biggio & Bagwell were going to make it, as well as Jack Morris, who was in his last year of eligibility.

I was only a kid when Morris was in his prime, but I'll always remember him beating the Yanks. He was never overpowering but dominant when he needed to be.

Now, if I had a vote, without question Clemens & Bonds WOULD have been on my ballot. You read that right. Did they cheat? Technically no. Did they use PEDs? Probably. None of this stuff was illegal at the time. Up until the 1970’s, Amphetamines were a rampant problem and all those guys got in.

The Hall of Fame is supposed to honor the best of their time and leaded or unleaded Clemens and Bonds were the best of their time. Sammy Sosa (12%) & Rafael Palmeiro (9%) were not and the voting reflects that.

Now, here’s the thing, each year the writers are limited to just 10 inductees. If they lift their self-imposed ban on the "Steroid" guys, Clemens and Bonds are in. Let's say they come around and vote Bagwell & Biggio in... unlikely, but that’s 4.  Here are next year’s first ballot nominees who SHOULD get in: Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas, and Mike Mussina. Now we’re up to 8.  I’ve been watching Tom Verducci, Bob Costas, Peter Gammons and all the other writers on MLB Network recently and they’ve all said they "only really vote for 6 guys every year."  So, if that’s true, how are 6 guys going to get 75% of the vote, let alone all 8? You following me?  These guys have really made a circus of this.  And let me state one more nutty point to this... This tweet from CBS Sports.com's Jon Heyman really seems truly ridiculous to me. This came after the results were revealed:

Jon, no offense, you're not a superhero and you're not that important.  We don't need you protecting us fans. We have brains in our heads and we have our own opinions.  All you guys have done is created a boys club and a true mess of this stuff. That's my opinion of course... clearly you have yours... you Tweeted it.

But back to my analysis... Other losers of this precarious position the writers have put us in are:

• Bernie Williams, who failed to get the minimum 5% to remain on the ballot
• Dale Murphy who has always been borderline HOF material, but has reached the end of his 15 years of eligibility 
• Curt Schilling, who as much as it pains me to say, probably deserves to be in for being so good in so many clutch situations. He’ll probably get lost in the middle of future ballots.

The whole thing is nuts and us fans are just as confused as we were before.  Good luck next year boys because this year you really screwed the pooch!

 

--Lem Allen, BYB Contributor

Email me at: bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

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REGGIE STIRRED THE WRONG DRINK

It appears the New York Yankees did what they had to do, tell the great Reggie Jackson that he needed to stay away from the club until they feel he should come back. This is coming from ESPN, read HERE.  As a senior advisor to the Yankees, he works for them. He’s also Reggie Jackson so unless he made a racial charged comment or punched a Yankee in the head, it appears the Yankees aren't going to fire the guy,  but instead, he disappears for a while. Like Goodfellas, Jimmy Conway tells Henry Hill to go on vacation in Tampa.  The difference is Henry Hill thought he was about to get whacked.  The Yankees are working like Jimmy Conway right now. They're saying to Reggie, "You made trouble. Go away for awhile, we’ll call you.” 

Now, Reggie has come out and made a statement about the situation and said this to USA Today's Bob Nightengale (HERE): "The Yankees think that the timing is not right for me to be around the team right now. When the Yankees feel that the timing is proper, I'll return.''

Don't forget, this has happened because of what Reggie said about Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Kirby Puckett and Gary Carter. (Full interview HERE.) Here are the quotes below:

  "I didn't see Kirby Puckett as a Hall of Famer... I didn't see Gary Carter as a Hall of Famer. I didn't see Don Sutton as a Hall of Famer. I didn't see Phil Niekro as a Hall of Famer. As much as I like Jim Rice, I'm not so sure he's a Hall of Famer." What about Bert Blyleven? "No. No, no, no, no...Blyleven wasn't even the dominant pitcher of his era -- it was Jack Morris."

 "I don't think the fans really count them, and I agree... I believe that Hank Aaron is the home run king, not Barry Bonds, as great a player as Bonds was."

"Al's a very good friend... But I think there are real questions about his numbers. As much as I like him, what he admitted about his usage does cloud some of his records."

Look, the Yankees are about to make a big push toward the playoffs this second half and right now they don’t need to extra BS.  Couple that with negativity placed on someone like Alex Rodriguez who’s struggling as it is and that’s just added pressure and aggravation no one on the Yankees needs right now.

Reggie Jackson is an iconic Yankee.  It is my opinion that what he said was diarrhea of the mouth, but the point he was trying to make is actually in there.  Reggie believes he played hard and to the best of his ability for years.  He not only thought he was the best during his playing days, he’d tell you he was and probably still would to this day.  Reggie has never ever shied away from a camera or microphone, but what he forgot this time was he worked for the Yankees in an advisor role when he made those comments. You never crap on the hometown guys.  When you do, you need to pay the price.

Look, I need to be honest with you. PEDs make me queasy.  I shouldn’t be surprised when I hear that someone new had tested positive for anything any more, but maybe that's the traditionalist in me.  I want to believe that guys today are healthy and run on just all human ability.  That’s the kid in me I guess. Many do, but some don't.  Now look,  I’m not getting into a debate about PEDs and who did and who didn’t…I don’t know and I don’t know who to believe anymore. Plus, it’s not my job to figure it out.  But what Reggie was trying to say in his ridiculous rant was to try and suggest that certain guys “in his opinion” didn’t have the same work ethic and drive as “the great Reggie Jackson.” And I left that line in about Barry Bonds because I too don't count him as the all-time home run champ.  Why? Because I'm suspicious.  But I'm just a fan.  Reggie is a ballplayer, a Hall of Famer and a peer. Believe me, it's different. So yes, I see Reggie's point, but he just fell flat.  As far as guys like Alex and Andy Pettitte go…saying what he said about them was just plain stupid.  

Reggie deserves his lumps and should take them like a man and if I’m Reggie, I resign from the Yankees and go beg the Oakland Athletics for a job because there is no question that Yankee fans are passionate about their New York Yankees and I believe we’d be more willing to let go of this incident if he left the organization as a whole and not just temporarily.  Then, one day in 3 years they can invite him back for Old Timers’ Day and all is forgotten. Now…it just lingers.

Look, everyone makes mistakes and talks out of turn once in a while.  Reggie did that, and it’s time to step aside and realize we all can’t be like the great Reggie Jackson. Lesson learned, never talk smack about the guys we love, especially if you're one of those guys.  The pinstripes are powerful and we fans take it seriously.... apparently so does Yankee brass.  I'm happy about that, they got this one right. That’s my take anyway.

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